Review: Tom Tom Go 700

You’ve seen the tv ads for the Tom Tom Go 700 – two people in a car, the driver asking for directions from the passenger “Sue Sue” (or something similar.)

Yeah… those commercials suck. But can the same be said for the product itself?

Reviews:

CNET: “Last July, the TomTom GO got our engines revving as this supercool automotive GPS won our Editors’ Choice award for its portability, its accuracy, and its awesome navigation features. Since then, we’ve anxiously been anticipating the company’s next product, and it seems to be worth the wait. Like its predecessor, the TomTom GO 700 ($899) keeps the same compact form factor but now stores maps in its hard drive. And the pièce de résistance: integrated Bluetooth for hands-free cell phone use.”

Pocket-Lint “In our tests the TomTom GO 700 proved formidable compared to not only the TomTom Classic, but also other units we have tested on Pocket-lint.”

Global Positioning Systems: “The evolution of this Linux based device over its predecessor demonstrates that TomTom as a company do listen to their customers. Many of the new features were requested by existing GO owners, and TomTom to their credit, have not abandoned their GO Classic customer base: the new firmware used on the GO 300 is available for free download and works beautifully on the GO Classic. This bodes well for those worrying that their investment will be obsolete in a few months: it won’t.”

Pros: Bluetooth for hands free control of your cellphone, portable, easy to use, hard drive to preload maps, real-time weather and traffic data via TomTom’s new Plus services (Traffic $4.99 a month / $49.99 annually – weather is free).
Cons: Less than impressive screen display, occasionally gave “dodgy” directions.
Bottom Line: The Go 700 is the top of the line product in Tom Tom’s fleet of portable navigation devices. At $899, you would be hard-pressed to find a better navigational system with more features at any price.